


||WIP|| The Aftershock of Tacendas

by Not_Alive (themightyaceofspades), WIP_it (themightyaceofspades)



Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Death, Destruction, Gen, Other, What-If, X-Men Inspired, X-Men: Apocalypse Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2020-06-09 16:22:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19479601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themightyaceofspades/pseuds/Not_Alive, https://archiveofourown.org/users/themightyaceofspades/pseuds/WIP_it
Summary: DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NOR CLAIM TO OWN THE X-MEN, X-MEN: APOCALYPSE, NOR ANY OF THE CANON CHARACTERS FEATURED IN THIS WORK. I ONLY OWN THE PLOT LINE AND ANY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.What if the X-Men hadn’t prevailed during their last stand against Apocalypse? What if Apocalypse was given his chance to reform this world into his version of perfection? How would life be on a demolished planet? What would happen to those who survived?This is an Open Fic. An Open Fic is a Fan Fiction work that requires no prior knowledge of the fandom and explains everything so those who are unfamiliar with the fandom may enjoy it as well.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> To whom this may concern, this work will only—at least primarily—be updated in the summer months (June-August).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you find any spelling/grammatical errors, continuity mistakes, or have any suggestions to help me improve, please feel free to tell me! :)

A harsh wind whipped through the barren, crumbling landscape, sending a spray of ember and beige colored dust sweeping across the vast expanse, marking the continuation of the constant cycle of rising and falling sediment; soon, the airborne dirt would settle upon the parched soil and then, be picked up just as fast several times over by the ceaseless breezes that buffeted the temperate region. As the drafts carried out their simplistic labor, the conflagrant sun sent scorching waves of sweltering heat down to the damaged earth—that were plausibly high enough in temperature to melt the husks of remnant structures and instantaneously fry any surviving organic creature that boisterously ventured out from its secluded sanctuary. Ever since the events that had led to the place's quite violent and casualty-inducing demolition, only a few noises dared to sound; even then, those were barely audible scuffles that struggled to climb swiftly from wall to wall of the deep canyons--that had been carved into the desert in the midst of the immoral destruction--and ultimately reach the remaining intelligent inhabitants' ears. 

A toddler-aged _homo superior_ \--type of human who was born with abstract powers and/or features that were a result of a genetic mutation--female lounged beneath one of the few flourishing trees for relief from the sun's relentless heat, rolling pebbles that one could find strewn all over the vast landscape between her fingers, studying the way the rough and smooth ones differed. Along with the miniscule rocks' texture, she observed the varying color combinations that each one expressed and made sure to hold onto the ones she found especiallly alluring. 

Then, the sound of shifting sand underfoot stole her gaze away from her new subject of infatuation and to the source; she had grown rather acquainted with the silence that almost always enshrouded the wasteland so, she found herself startled at and drawn by curiosity towards even the smallest of noises. Once the person approaching her was no longer standing directly in the sunbeams' path, she identified him in a matter of seconds and a bright demeanor replaced her analytical one. From his mud brown hair that was slowly being invaded by grey to his towering, slim figure and the few wrinkles that creased his sharp-featured face, the girl immediately knew that he _was_ the man she labeled her confidant and the only person she could trust wholeheartedly. A bubbly feeling sprouted from her chest and quickly jumped from synapse to synapse as a smile took over her tan-complexioned face. In the midst of her joy, she made the decision to greet the familiar man making his way towards her. Kicking up dust, she pedaled towards the man she had grown to see in the same light as a child would a father and enveloped him in a hasty hug, giggling giddily. The man offered her a charming smile at her actions and wrapped his arms around her short figure, a queer feeling of childlike wonder and joy pulsing through his body in the slightest. He cherished the little girl's blissful naïvety and cheerfulness for when he was without her, the weight of the current global situation threatened to shatter his vertebrae and harshly thrust him face first into the toughened upper crust of the Earth. 

"How are you doing, Kiddo?" the man asked, tenderness smudging away the sharp edges to his voice that was usually gruff with age and experience. 

"Good," she replied with a fit of giggles. 

"Have you seen the Supreme Ruler?" he inquired, surveying the bland landscape for any signs of him with his crystalline, green irises. 

The little girl's tongue peeked out from the corner of her mouth as she tried to recall her last encounter with him. After a few moments, she shook her head in response. 

"Any idea where he might be, Sweat Pea?" he pressed, a tendril of fear snaking its way past his sweet tone that was comparable to the scent of honeysuckle during the summer. 

"Nope," she shook her head, a toothy grin lightening her jovial features. 

"That's alright," he stated. "I should probably go looking for him," he chuckled and then, ruffled her short black hair with his large hand, "I'll be back, Sweetie." 

She waved to him in farewell and he departed, replicating her gesture as he walked off. As soon as he was out of eyeshot, the little girl resumed amusing herself with the many pebbles that lied before her. Her small task engaged her until the sun began to retreat from its high throne to allow the Earth a few hours to cool off and prepare for the next wave of unbearable heat. The man she had encountered earlier returned shortly to her with what food he could scrounge from the desert plains and offered to split his findings with her. 

"Sweet Pea, it's okay. It's for both of us, not just me," he assured. 

Eventually, hunger trumped her excessive manners and she indulged in his catch: two lizards he had found credulously sunbathing—that he later roasted over an open fire someone had left carelessly unattended. Albeit the two reptiles were quite undernourished and easily only a few months to a year old, they still allowed the two to survive until morning. Once finished, the man buried the ravaged corpses beneath the cooling sand to ease the girl's known disquietude over their presence. It wasn't long before the toddler fell asleep in her father figure's lap, snoring the slightest bit as her mouth hanged open in a laxed fashion; eventually, he, too, succumbed to the pull of slumber as the chilly night air began to fully settle in. 

When the girl awoke the next morning, the man who had accompanied her for most of her life was gone, but she dismissed that fact as it was an usual occurrence; he was an adult male and was still able-bodied despite his age therefore, making him prone to being assigned tasks by the Ruler. Promptly to yawning and stretching all the sleep out of her limbs, she decided to go on a little adventure and explore the area surrounding her temporary place of refuge. Fortunately, it was still early light so the sun hadn't yet reached its highest temperature and wouldn't for at least a few hours, making it so the girl could explore for a while without tiring. Aimlessly, she wandered the blank landscape, her exposed feet bracing the harsh heat of the sand, whilst keeping her head held high and upholding the excitement glistening in her round, blood orange-hazed eyes for the entire duration of her journey. Eventually, she stumbled across an area where at least ten people stood in a semi-circle, their gazes trained on whatever was occurring before them. The peculiarly large crowd of people attracted her towards the scene and, letting her curiosity suppress her reason, she waddled over towards the gathering. To not draw attention to herself, she made sure to be as silent as possible and watched the happenings from at least ten feet away from the audience. 

"I, your humble Savior and the Supreme Ruler of All the Lands, have found myself a member of the Dishonest hiding amongst us." Muffled gasps rippled through the audience at his proclamation; everyone was well aware of the punishment for going against the Savior's wishes and teachings, even the little girl inconspicuously watching from behind a boulder ten feet away knew it was not advisable to be disloyal to him. Whoever the transgressor was was obviously not the brightest person. 

The Supreme Ruler, a tall man with blue skin donned in heavy armor who was believed to be the first ever _homo superior_ , made a wordless gesture to one of his most loyal warriors. In moments, that same guard presented the crowd and all onlookers with a figure with its head covered with a raggedy burlap sack. As soon as the Savior nodded, the man was dramatically unveiled. The little girl who was hidden from the crowd gaped in disbelief at the identity of the criminal. It couldn’t be who she thought it was, right? Naguib would never purposely anger the Savior, would he? Most importantly, what had he done? The girl’s head spun with various questions and what ifs, and fortunately, the Ruler’s voice broke her out of her own mind before she passed out. 

"This man is guilty of the worst of offenses: _treason_. One of my warriors spotted him planning a revolution with two other men that were killed on the spot. I thought this man was an excellent servant, but it appears that he is nothing more than a liar who was dishonest about his loyalty. For stooping so low as to join the Dishonest in this life, he shall join them in Hell as well. Let his execution be a reminder to all of you to never betray your rightful Ruler," the Supreme Ruler announced. As the girl watched in incredulity, she noticed that he wasn't resisting his fate whatsoever; her tender caregiver wasn't fighting back. The fact that the man who always fought against what was unjust was not even daring to lift his gaze from the mangled ground further proved his guiltiness to the girl who had grown to know him like the back of her hand. When her eyes finally trailed away from Naguib, her heart pounding in her chest, the warrior that had hauled the malefactor before the crowd was restraining his already limp figure and another held a sharp sword that shimmered beneath the sun's beams, poised and prepared to execute the Supreme Ruler's assigned punishment. At the response of another simple nod, the sword-bearing warrior drew the double-edged weapon above his head. Immediately, the girl felt a lump rise into her throat and obstruct her natural breathing pattern. Her chest heaving for breath, she watched him swiftly lower the blade with efficient ease and practiced proficiency. Once the head of the man fell to the dusty ground and rolled momentarily before coming to a stop, she felt her heart rapidly drop into the pit of her stomach and a feeling comparable to nausea settling in. As soon as she realized that his lifeless eyes were staring straight towards her, chills climbed up and down her spine and her stomach twisted itself into a tight knot. When the restrainer released his body, it joined his severed head along the cracked earth, an aqueous, crimson liquid pouring out from both the head and the body that the thirsty soil graciously lapped up. 

Even after the crowd had dispersed, the girl remained, her gaze fixated on her father figure's corpse, tears she was unaware of streaming down her filth-ridden cheeks. She shook her head a few times in silent denial, telling herself that this was just a nightmare or an illusion the Supreme Ruler had sent to everyone via his magnificent and matured mastery on telepathy. However, there was no denying the truth when the starving, savage vultures arrived not even within an hour of the death. Quickly, she adverted her eyes when the birds’ sharp beaks began piercing through Naguib’s flesh and greedily gobbling up what little meat clung to his bones. Eventually, the urge overwhelmed her and what little, precious food she had eaten earlier in the day was expelled in accompaniment with an awful, retching sound. 

The truth wasn’t completely confirmed and engrained in her fragile, youthful mind until her loneliness and anguish had grown to the point where it could easily span the size of a vast lake due to her lack of a comforter and confidant. Ever since the horror she witnessed, her brain seemed to have matured and developed a higher sense of reason and reality that greatly improved her capacity for analyzing the world she dwelled in—a skill that the Ruler most certainly feared his servants would gain. As each day passed, despite the fact that she knew what Naguib had done was blatantly illegal, she began to realize that perhaps he had a valid reason for attempting to lead an uprising, perhaps the Supreme Ruler _was_ the source of all their problems and not really a savior. Her brain pondered the thought hourly. 

Once she finally grew out of toddlerhood, she found that she could easily dismiss the nonchalant faces of the murderers, but there was nothing that could rid her mind of the sickening image of Naguib’s empty, colorless eyes staring up at her with an expression hauntingly devoid of emotion; his face followed her everywhere like an astray spirit, appearing at every turn and around every corner. Albeit the memory of her beloved’s lifeless face chilled her to the bone, what terrified her almost as equally was the mere notion that no matter how hard she tried to douse and quench it, she couldn’t help but feel a gradually increasing feeling of hatred burn in the cavity of her chest at the thought of what the Supreme Ruler had ordered. She knew it was lethal to think such vile thoughts about the Savior and fantasize holding his severed head within the curvature of her palm, cackling maniacally with triumph at her revenge, but that didn’t stop her from smiling wickedly whenever those thoughts floated to the front of her mind. If she hadn’t been smart enough, she would’ve shouted the most crude of profanities to the Ruler’s face and then, spit directly in his eyes to further the passion behind her grievances and suffering. 

It was no secret that her childish naïvety and innocence died with Naguib that gruesome day and a new, more powerful and reliable set of feelings quite quickly took their place, feelings that fueled and kindled—rather than quelled—the giant, ever-growing fire that had been lit in place of her once loving and tenderly beating heart. 


	2. 1.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reason that this is posted when it is not completed is due to the fact that I am fairly new to Ao3 and am originally a writer on Wattpad. The way to save a draft without posting the work on this site is something I'm still figuring out as well as with if it is possible to unpublish a work while it still being saved as a draft. Please be patient with me :)

NOT FINISHED 

As the mighty sun unleashed its broiling heatwaves upon the planets under its reign, a select few stood before the Supreme Ruler, eyes and mind not daring to depart from the world's savior; being beckoned forth to speak with the Savior was comparable to being requested to speak with the Almighty God face to face, if not held in a higher light. Since the rise of En Sabah Nur nearly a decade prior, all religion had been outlawed across every land, and those who were found worshipping deities other than the Ruler himself were persecuted with treason and labeled to be amongst the hellish Dishonest. It was uncertain whether or not this man of many names had used religious ideals as leverage to nonviolently convince the survivors, who obviously possessed enough strength to be worthy enough to live beneath his rule just by merely surviving the destruction, to follow his every commandment, but to those who's minds welcomed sinful thoughts, it was a sure possibility. 

"Sakhmet, my beloved child, come forth," the Ruler instructed, gesturing for her to no longer hide behind the others of the group with a simple wave of his hand. 

Her face completely devoid of any emotion, even her unique orange-tinted irises not betraying her, she took a few steps forward, keeping her head held high while she was the subject of his attention. The teenaged girl, who once could barely strain her neck up high enough to peer into his just eyes, stood poised before him, her head perfectly level with his shoulder. It was a mystery how the girl who had been a small runt in the eyes of all had grown to nearly match the Mighty Savior's height. 

"This man," his arm extended towards the brunet donned in loose maroon robes, who had opted to store his armor in the secret armory instead of wearing it full-time like His Majesty, "has been asking about our most prized traitors. If it is no burden to you, the Watcher of the Dishonest's Tombs, could you please lead him to their chambers." 

Almost robotically, she immediately dropped to kneel before him, her head bowed in silent obedience. "It will be my honor to carry out your commands." 

"Good," he grinned. "You may rise, my child." 

Promptly, the girl rose to her feet and began walking towards the dungeon within the basement of the pyramid-shaped temple not too far off, not bothering to pay her company any mind. As she trekked across the desert plain, she felt the familiar sensation of another presence within her headspace, knowing instantaneously who was dwelling within her powerful mind. The authoritative voice whispered a command into her brain and faded away as quickly as it had appeared, the owner trusting her enough to confide in her to preform the new assigned task without revealing its existence until the very last moment. 

“Why are you here?” the man, who was capable of manipulating anything with even the slightest of traces of metal, asked. 

“What do you mean?” Sakhmet shot back quickly, not bothering to peer over her shoulder at him. 

“Why do you work with _him_?” he rephrased his query, raising a brow. 

“He is our Savior, the one who will help us rise from the ashes and reclaim this world for our own. The distasteful humans are either completely gone or suffering, and rightfully so, all thanks to him,” Sakhmet explained as if she were a priest. “Why do you ask?” 

“Just curious,” he stated before thinking a few moments longer. “How did you get caught up in this mess?” He gestured his hands out towards the barren landscape and demolished husks of remnant buildings. 

“ _’This mess’_ is my home and always will be so,” she answered, her voice edged with a growing annoyance. 

“How old were you when he destroyed everything in the name of glory and greatness?” he pressed. 

“I wasn’t alive, born after the first stage of Rebirth,” she replied briskly, quickening her pace. 

She mentally cheered when the man stopped talking, but that silence didn’t last forever, unfortunately. “Oh, so you’ll never understand the inhumanity to his actions. Do you know what it’s like? Losing your entire world before your eyes? Being forced to rip everything up from the ground, killing millions in the process, or face death? Having your friends be imprisoned so far away yet so close,” he pointed a finger towards the gold-topped pyramid a few hundred feet away, “and there’s nothing you can do to save them?!” 

His admittance stopped the girl in her tracks. She turned on her heel to face him, her face contorting in seconds. Scrunching up her nose and glaring at him, she bellowed, “How _dare_ you speak of our Savior like that! He has done nothing but help us! Would you rather go back to then? Where people like us were persecuted, feared, and told to hide away for the rest of our lives?!” Then, her voice lowered as her gaze trailed up and down his figure, demeanor drowning in disgust. “I’m sure he wouldn’t be pleased to hear you uttering the words of a Dishonest.” 

“You weren’t even alive—you know nothing of what it was like back then!” he sneered, brows furrowing. “You have not idea what it is like to be threatened with death twice in one lifetime over things you cannot control nor wish to change.” 

“I’ve heard the stories,” she muttered, her tongue sharper than a knife. 

“Stories are certainly no rival to experience,” he countered. “One can study the intricate details of the Holocaust for all their life, but yet until you live through it and be nearly killed because of the hatred of others, you’ll never truly understand what it was like.” 

“What does the Holocaust have to do with us?” she scoffed, turning on her heel again and taking a few more strides forward. 

“It has to do with _me_ ,” he replied almost incoherently, his irises gaining a tinge of sorrow in their web of dull blue. 

Sakhmet dismissed his last sentiment, continuing forward with purpose. When they finally reached the door to the mighty pyramid, she typed the code in and promptly, the metal thing rose up, allowing them passage into the prison. She had everything memorized from even the most obvious structures to the least noticeable of intricacies due to her long time being stationed as the buildings keeper. On the contrary, the man beside her had never been blessed with the ability to peer inside the holding place of the most powerful of their enemies. 

[Ma'at: truth, justice, orderly conduct, Sakhmet: powerful one, Keket: goddess of darkness. Real name: Ma'at Kek Jabari Chike, Alias: Sakhmet. "You shall never think lowly of the Most High."] 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you tremendously for taking the time to read through my fan fiction work. I thoroughly enjoyed creating this and hope that this piece reflects the passion I have for the X-Men movie saga and my craft: writing. If you found any continuity errors, grammar and/or spelling mistakes, or just have some constructive criticism, please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions with me. I am always looking to improve! :)


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